I buy a box of garbage bags
and when I get home
and open it
to put one in the can
I realize the bags are scented
the whole of the kitchen
is flushed with a smell
of artificial sweetness
maybe something
that was once floral
but was chemically dialed up
into this headache inducing thing
but this is what I have
and I have two hundred bags
to get through
and I don’t have time
to return them
and so I try to make do
and as days pass
as I walk past the can
I get a whiff of this
false sweetness
being tainted by
the slow rot of trash
and I think about our legacy
like so many other cultures
our trash will outlive us all
especially now
what we use on a daily basis
will remain for a million years
and the more I ponder
about our legacy
there is nothing more telling
than these garbage bags
full of plastic wrappers
and wasted food
sitting in the dirt
smelling sweet
and rotten
for eternity

Alexander Shalom Joseph is an award winning poet, writer and playwright from Gilpin County, and is the author of seven published books. You can find his work and more information about him at www.alexandershalomjoseph.com.